It’s not often that a brand new TV show is renewed only four shows into its first season, but that has just happened to the new FX spy thriller, The Americans, and I can understand why. This is the freshest show I have seen in a long time.

The premise is complicated. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell star as Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, KGB sleeper spies who live in suburban Washington, D.C., during the Reagan era. They own and run a travel agency and raise an ordinary family to complete their cover (shades of Alias).

Things become complicated when Philip and Elizabeth start to value their family more than their missions. Then an FBI agent who is more interested in other people’s families than his own moves in next door. And despite her grandmotherly tone and appearance, the KGB handler assigned to Philip and Elizabeth makes it clear that she considers them to be expendable in the name of a mission. Any mission.

The season opener starts with Kate and Rick in bed. Enjoying their coffee, they talk about how wonderful the previous night was and Castle even talks about how he hopes it wasn’t just a circumstantial episode. Just as they are about to start another round, Castle’s mom, Martha, shows up and Rick sends Kate and their relationship into the closet—literally and figuratively. Beckett’s not happy, and why should she be?

Turns out Martha came home early from the Hamptons because Alexis darling got too drunk at her graduation party and is now super hung over.

If you haven’t watched all of this season of Castle yet, stop reading and go catch up. This episode is worth it.

Who Killed Beckett’s Mother?

We start out with a recap from seasons past to remind us how we got here. Flashes of Beckett’s dead mother fill the screen. Captain Montgomery reminds Kate that these guys, “. . . are coming to kill you and I’m not going to let them . . .” Then we see Roy Montgomery fulfilling this promise with his own death.

As a genre, mystery is famous for its loners, guys like Jack Reacher, Monk and Lucas Davenport. But mysteries are also rife with bromances, all you have to do is look. What exactly is a bromance? The term is used to describe a non-sexual relationship between two men that are unusually close. In mystery, this can take the form of a traditional sidekick, a work colleague, or even a dog.

Here is my take on the top ten ten mystery bromances, in reverse order:

Number 10: Hercule Poirot and James Japp in the PBS Mystery! Series Poirot

Technically Poirot spends more time with Captain Hastings, but it is the unlikely evolution of his relationship with Scotland Yard’s Inspector Japp that is most impressive. The Brit and the Belgian are as different as two men can be, yet they develop a mutual respect and fondness for one another. Poirot invites Japp to stay at his house, and when Japp gives lectures about his career, he gives all the credit to Poirot. It’s a friendship of international detection perfection.

Television today is filled with strong women crime fighters. Detective Kate Beckett on Castle, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer and Dr. Temperance Brennan on Bones are prime examples. But where would these women be without their devoted male sidekicks, and what qualifications are necessary to get the job done (besides, of course, being ruggedly handsome)? More importantly, who would you rather partner with to fight crime: Richard Castle, Fritz Howard or Seeley Booth?